


The Second Hand Unwinds

by GalitMirav



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: AU, Alternate 2014, Avengers: Endgame (Movie), F/M, Fix-It, Friends to Lovers, Goodbyes, Natasha Romanov Lives, Reunions, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-30
Updated: 2020-05-30
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:40:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24458359
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GalitMirav/pseuds/GalitMirav
Summary: Steve returns the Soul Stone to Vormir and in doing so is able to revive Natasha.He travels to 1945 as planned in order to reunite with Peggy, but soon realizes that he no longer belongs there.A man truly out of time, where will he find his home?Alternate 2014-verseWritten for Romanogers Week - Prompt: "I think we both need to get a life."
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes & Steve Rogers, Peggy Carter/Steve Rogers, Steve Rogers & Howard Stark, Steve Rogers & Johann Schmidt, Steve Rogers & Natasha Romanov, Steve Rogers & Sam Wilson, Steve Rogers & Tony Stark, Steve Rogers/Natasha Romanov
Comments: 14
Kudos: 111





	The Second Hand Unwinds

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with Marvel, The MCU, Disney, etc. I’m just a fan. I am not making money off this story.

_Vormir_.He’d arrived. Steve looked on at the desolate landscape. The dread and emptiness of the planet so profound it was tangible. _Natasha gave her life here.She died to save everyone._

"Hello, Captain Rogers."

Steve recognized the voice. He hadn't heard it in many years but he could never forget it.He turned around. “Johann Schmidt.Red Skull."

"Your friend, Clint Barton, left only just a few seconds ago with the Soul Stone."

He nodded."I'm here to return it."

"As I foresaw.And I see my time as the keeper of the Soul Stone will not be coming to an end after all."

Steve couldn't help but feel pity for him being trapped on this planet. "I have to return the stone."

Despite their history, despite what fighting Red Skull cost him, he harbored no animosity towards him. Based on Schmidt's behavior, the feeling was mutual.

Red Skull nodded."And you are also hoping that by returning the Stone, you will restore to life your friend, Natasha Romanoff."

Steve's breath hitched. "I know Clint said it wasn't possible.And Bruce tried to bring her back when he used the stones to bring back everyone else.But she traded her life for the stone, so why can't we make another exchange?"

"I have been the keeper of the Soul Stone for decades. Once a sacrifice has been made, it cannot be undone. I have never been informed otherwise."

Steve huffed out a breath, feeling the last of his hope vanish. "But why can't giving back the Stone bring her back?” His desperation was rising. "Maybe....maybe it can and you're not aware of it because if people came here for the Soul Stone and had even a hint that their sacrifice could be undone, it would be meaningless."

"Your reasoning is quite logical, I will not deny that.However as I've said, I am not aware of anything else.It would be wise not to raise your hopes."

Steve looked away, fighting another pang of grief. _It isn’t fair_.He shook his head. He still had a mission to complete. "How do I return the Soul Stone?"

"Stand by the edge of the cliff.Raise your arm, and let the stone fall from your hand into the water below."

"That's it? No need to say anything?"

"Words do not matter to the Soul Stone. Only actions."

 _Very well._ Steve walked to the ledge and extended his arm in front of him, the Soul Stone clenched in his palm. _Actions_.Natasha’s action obtained the stone, why couldn’t his action get her back? _Please_.He didn’t know who he was praying to, only hoping that someone or something was listening. _She deserves so much.She deserves to live. She made her sacrifice willingly. Letting her live won't undo her intention.She traded her life to obtain this.I just want to trade this for her life.Whatever it takes._ "A soul for a soul!" he proclaimed out loud.Opening his hand, he let the stone fall to the depths below.

Steve stared after the stone as it disappeared from view.For several seconds nothing happened, until a literal wave of light began to emanate from the water.He took it to mean the Soul Stone had been received. But what would happen next? Should he wait? Or was it pointless and Natasha was truly gone?

The light started to rise, gradually getting higher and higher until it was just feet from the ledge where Steve was standing.He took a few steps back as the light moved closer, stopping once it literally touched the edge of the cliff.Steve could make out a figure forming within it.His breath caught in his throat, hoping, _praying_ it meant that…

The figure stepped forward, the light disappearing behind her.

There she was. In the flesh. Natasha Romanoff. His rock for the last five years.

Alive.

Steve could only stare at her in shock, feeling every bit as overwhelmed and amazed as when he heard Sam’s voice on the comm and saw T’Challa emerge from the portal.

_She’s alive._

“Astonishing,” he heard Schmidt say behind him.Steve had almost forgotten he was there, having been so focused on getting Natasha back and now she was here.

“Nat?” he choked out.

She nodded, a soft smile on her face.“Steve.”

“Oh, Nat.” He pulled her into a hug, fighting desperately to keep the tears at bay. “You’re alive.”

She tightened her arms around him.“Yeah, I’m alive.”

“When you didn’t come back with Clint...we were all devastated.”He looked into her eyes. “ _I_ was devastated.”

The smile hadn’t left her face. “I had to do whatever it took.”

He shook his head, still reeling from her death and her return to life.“Don’t ever scare us like that again.”

“Not planning on it.” She smirked.“We did it.We brought everyone back and I’ve finally got the red out of my ledger.”

“Nat…you didn’t have to throw yourself off the ledge for that reason. You got the red out a long time ago.”

“Did I? I never felt that way. Well, now I do.”

Steve managed a smile.“Dying to save billions of people.You’ve more than earned your clean slate."

They released each other. ”Are you alright?" Steve asked.

"I think so." She looked down, a confused expression on her face."It's so strange. I remember…." Her voice trailed off.

"Dying?" Steve tentatively asked. 

She nodded."Yeah. Well…I remember being dead.Parts of it.I know I’ve only been dead in this reality for a few minutes at most. But I also know I was there the whole time with you guys afterwards.And then you came here.It’s all fading now.I can’t remember most of it.”

Red Skull interjected."As you are now alive that is how it should be.Apart from the transition from life to death, the two should never mix.”

”I saw Tony before he crossed over,” Natasha continued. 

_Tony_.Steve felt his chest tighten, the heartache of Tony's death still raw. "How was he?"

She looked away again, shaking her head. "I can't remember exactly what we said to each other. He was sad, but accepting of it."She paused, a pensive look on her face."I almost went with him. I remember thinking it was time and there was no point in lingering anymore, but he told me to wait. I think…I think he knew, you'd be able to bring me back."

Steve closed his eyes, grief threatening to overwhelm him. He brought Natasha back, but he couldn't save Tony. Why had he been so damn insistent on undoing The Snap?! Natasha wouldn't have had to sacrifice herself in the first place.Tony would still be alive.

But the world was broken.They had to undo Thanos' damage.They HAD to!

The cost was high.

_Too high._

He shook his head.He succeeded in bringing Natasha back, now it was time to take her home. ”Let’s get you off this planet.”

Red Skull stepped forward. "I am afraid there is a limitation to that,” he stated matter-of-factly.

Steve turned sharply toward him."What do you mean?”

“Natasha is free to leave Vormir, but she can only stay within this reality.She cannot return with you to your time.”

“What?!” Steve looked back and forth between the two of them, disbelief and desperation growing.Natasha gave her life for her home and she couldn’t go back to it? “Why?”

Natasha turned toward him. She didn’t seem surprised or alarmed by this information.She looked more resigned than anything. ”I’m gonna spare you his explanation. It's the price of resurrection.Basically, for lack of a better term, I belong to this reality now, and I can never leave it.”

“What? How do you know this?”

"I think I was informed of it by someone…or something…between dying and coming back. Or maybe I was just imbued with the knowledge during my time in the Soulworld.I’m not sure.”

Steve was too stunned to move. How could this be?How come he could still travel between realities but Natasha couldn’t? “ _Belong_? But I’m not from here and I can travel back and forth.”

“Like I said, it’s the price of resurrection.” She shrugged, giving him a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.

He reached for her hand, squeezing it gently. They were silent again for several moments, drawing comfort and strength from each other.

Steve turned towards Schmidt.“So what happens now? How does she get off Vormir?”

“As a gesture of gratitude for its return,” Red Skull began. “The Soul Stone will allow me to grant her safe passage to the destination of her choice.” He shifted his focus to Natasha.“Tell me where you would like to go and I will transport you there instantly.”

Steve looked at Nat.“Where will you go?

Natasha contemplated her response. Then her eyes lit up.“The Avengers Tower,” she replied. “I can stop them from making the same mistakes we made.”

His eyes went wide as he nodded.“That’s a good idea.Especially since a lot of the mistakes we made were easily avoidable.”Regret hit him like a wave.He sighed heavily.“Make sure you get the other-me to tell Tony about Bucky.”For years he imagined how he could have handled it differently.“In fact, have him tell Rhodey and Pepper, and the three of them can sit Tony down and break it to him.”

“I’ll let him know,” she softly said, seemingly aware of his pain and regret in that moment.

They were silent again.Steve didn’t know what to say.His heart was breaking at the thought of saying goodbye to Natasha again. _She’s alive.That’s what’s important._

“I’m gonna miss you,” he said.

“I’ll miss you too.” She smiled, though tears were in her eyes.”Tell everyone I said 'hi'".

Steve took a deep breath."I'm not going back, Natasha."

"What?"

"I can't. 2023 doesn't feel like home anymore.I…Something went wrong in 2012.We couldn't get the Tesseract.Tony and I traveled to 1970 to get it and pick up more Pym Particles. And I saw…I saw Peggy.

"Seeing her brought it all back.I never stopped loving her and…if there's a chance we can be together…I have to take it.I'm going back to 1945. Just after the war ended.I looked up where she was living at the time so I know where to find her." He looked into her eyes, pleading for her to understand.

She looked at him in disbelief. “So you're going to give up the life you made in the present and all the relationships you forged in order to be with a woman who _you know_ eventually moved on from you?”

He winced at her accusation.And what made it worse was he couldn’t deny it. “Nat…”

“So what's going to happen? You and Peggy play house while your alternate-1945 counterpart remains frozen underwater?"

Steve opened his mouth but found he had no reply.He had been so focused on returning the Stones and planning his reunion with Peggy that he honestly hadn’t remembered that there would be another version of him still frozen under the ice once he travelled back.

And in the meantime, Natasha continued to glare at him disapprovingly.

"It's more than about being with Peggy!" he exclaimed, ignoring her last argument."I can stop Hydra before they become a problem! We can start preparing for the Infinity War before it even starts!"

She still looked unconvinced."And Bucky and Sam are okay with you going?"

Steve flinched."I didn't tell Sam." He looked away, knowing it had been cowardly not to tell him and not wanting see even more reproach on Natasha's face."But I talked to Bucky about it.He was sad to see me go but he gave me his permission." 

Natasha raised her eyebrows. Either she was surprised by that last bit or she was skeptical.

“Honestly, I think you need to get a life,” she stated evenly, echoing the words he said to her back at the Compound not too long ago.

“And that’s what I’m going to do!” He exclaimed, louder than he intended to.

They were silent for several seconds. ”I don't think you're making the right decision," she finally said.“But if you’ve made up your mind and I can’t stop you, than it's your life.If you feel it's right, than I won't stand in your way."

He sighed."Thank you, Natasha.”

She turned to face Red Skull.“So what happens now?”

“Once Captain Rogers leaves, I will transport you to the Avengers Tower as you requested.”

“Good, because I don’t know the first thing about flying that ship that brought Clint and me here.Nebula preprogrammed it in the first place.” She looked back at Steve.“I guess this is it.”

Steve put her hand on her shoulder.“Yeah, this is it.”They embraced for one last time.“You take care of yourself.”

“You too.”

Sighing heavily, Steve released her and took a step back, entering the coordinates for 1945 on his Time-Space GPS.He looked up at Nat.She gave him a soft smile and nodded.“Goodbye, Steve.”

“Goodbye, Nat.” He activated his GPS. 

————————————————————————————————————————

He arrived in 1945. He was outside Peggy's door. He'd done it.He was here. 

Sighing deeply, he knocked on the door.After a few seconds with no answer, he knocked again.Still no answer. _She must not be home_. That was fine.He could wait.

In a way, he'd been waiting for her for years.He took another deep breath. They could finally be together.He and Peggy.It was just as it should be.Just as it was supposed to be.They'd finally have their dance; they'd get married; they could pick up right where they left off.

He pictured the last time he saw her.So old and fragile.But still very much the extraordinary woman he fell in love with.She lived a wonderful and fulfilling life, and now the two of them would live a life together.

 _She lived a life_. The thought forced its way to the front of his mind.Natasha’s admonition echoed in his head. _Peggy moved on_.She lived a life.Married.Had children. _Not with me._

How could he change the course of Peggy’s life like this? How could they possibly pick up from where they left off?So much happened to him since he crashed the Valkyrie into the ocean.He'd seen and experienced unimaginable things. How could he even start to describe them to Peggy? Things couldn't go back to the way they were.She was the same Peggy that he'd fallen in love with….but he wasn't the same Steve. It was a truth he could no longer deny.

This wasn't his time anymore.

It was a mistake to come here.He had to leave.He had to go back to 2023.

But how could he walk away? Wasn't part of the reason why he travelled to the past was in order to save it?At this very moment while he was standing there deciding what to do, Hydra was planning their next move and Bucky was their prisoner getting tortured.

SHIELD was Peggy and Howard's work, and Hydra destroyed it. He couldn't save SHIELD in the future, but he could stop Hydra from infiltrating them now.He could rescue Bucky. He could save Howard from being brutally murdered.He could warn the world of the future alien invasion and give them decades to prepare for it.How could he just leave and let all those terrible things happen to the people he cared about?

"Steve?" A female voice called out, shaking Steve out of his thoughts.It was the voice he'd heard for so long in his head and now was finally hearing out loud. He froze.

“Steve?” The voice repeated, half-desperate and half-hopeful in tone.

She saw him. There was no avoiding it now.Whether he stayed or left, this timeline was forever altered.He turned around.There she was, standing just a few meters away.Peggy Carter.The woman he loved.

The woman he could never be with.

“Peg,” he whispered passed the lump in his throat. 

She tentatively walked towards him. Tears in her eyes and her face full of longing, disbelief, and love.She picked up the pace the closer she got to him, reaching out her hand to cup his cheek.“Steve.”

He closed his eyes and pressed into her palm. “It’s me,” he whispered.

He heard her choke on a sob.Then another.And then finally she pulled him into a tight embrace, sobbing openly.He returned the hug with equal fervor, clinging to her tightly as he forced his eyes to stay closed, trying in vain to keep his own tears from falling.

He had to leave.He had to let Peggy live the life she was meant to live without him.

But he was going to indulge in this moment.

After several seconds - maybe minutes -of simply holding each other, Peggy finally relaxed, leaning back ever so slightly in order to gaze into Steve’s eyes, her expression still full of awe.“How..?”

Steve exhaled sharply.He _had_ to do this.“I’m not your Steve.”

She looked confused.“Wh…What?”

He cringed.Maybe he could have phrased that better.Then again, how does one start a conversation like this? “I’m…I’m from the future.Your Steve, the Steve of this reality is still frozen under the ice.”Peggy continued to stare at him in confusion, which only grew as she finally noticed the Quantum Realm suit he forgot to deactivate.“Maybe we should go inside.I’ll explain everything.In fact, you should call Howard.He needs to hear what I have to say too.”

She looked at him tentatively.“…Alright.” He couldn’t tell if she was suspicious of him or simply bewildered.“Let’s go in.”She reached for his hand.He took it and smiled in relief as they walked towards the door.It wasn’t suspicion, she still trusted him.

————————————————————————————————————————

Peggy called Howard, telling him it was urgent and he needed to come see her.Both she and Steve agreed it was better for Howard to find out in person rather than over the phone.Howard’s shock at seeing Steve alive was almost indescribable.After standing rigid for several seconds, Howard rushed over to him and warmly embraced him.In fact, as they said in the 21st century, he practically _glomped_ him.Steve was surprised but embraced him back, though he felt some sadness and guilt as he realized Howard probably never hugged Tony like this.

Howard finally released him. “It’s good to see you, Steve.”

“It’s good to see you too, Howard.”

Howard shook his head, amazement visible on his face. “I searched everywhere in that damn ocean trying to find you.We found nothing.How are you here? Alive?”

Steve sighed. “It’s a _very_ long story.”

And so began a very lengthly discussion about how he was found in 2012, frozen but still alive. And two weeks later aliens invaded.Not long after that, Hydra reared its heads, having been infiltrated in SHIELD from the beginning.

Steve made sure Peggy and Howard understood that under no circumstances should Zola be recruited to join SHIELD. That NO ONE who worked with Hydra should be part of SHIELD.He told them Bucky was still alive and gave them his location so they could rescue him from further torture and experimentation at Hydra’s hands.

Lastly, Steve told them about Thanos’ arrival in 2018.How thanks to his possession of all of the Infinity Stones, half of all life in the universe literally crumbled into dust with the snap of his fingers.

Peggy and Howard were absolutely astounded.For awhile neither could respond.Finally, Howard spoke.“Wow, Steve…sounds like you had some pretty big adventures in the future.”

Steve scoffed.“That’s putting it mildly.” He pursed his lips.“We were able to undo it, The Snap, that is.We brought everyone back, but….”He shook his head.They were able to revive everyone who dusted, but so many people died indirectly from The Snap and remained dead - passengers in planes who’s pilots dusted, car crashes because of vanished drivers, suicides among the survivors…etc.There was no way to bring those people back to life.And many of the vanished who came back would find their loved ones either dead or moved on with their lives.The world would never be the same.

Peggy reached for his hand, grasping it in hers.“It cost you a lot to undo to the damage.And even after all that, plenty remain.That’s why you came here.”

He looked into her eyes.She still knew him so well.She gazed at him with so much love and compassion.Walking away from her now would be the hardest thing he would ever do.But he had to.She had a life to live. 

He let go her hand.“I should leave now.”

"Aren't you at least going to tell us where in the ocean you - that is, the other you, are buried?”

"So you can retrieve me?” It was a stupid question, he knew they would ask him.

"Of course!" Peggy and Howard looked incredulous.

"I shouldn't be here. Peggy.You…you moved on.You married someone else.You made a family.You were happy. It was wrong of me to come back here and change all that.You need to live the life you would have lived without me."

"That was before I knew you were alive." She was firm in her words, though something in eyes briefly flashed as though it took her a moment to comprehend what Steve said. 

She shook it off. "I might have moved on from you in the world you came from.But that was another life. That was when I thought you were dead.Please." She gave his hand a squeeze. "Tell us.”

"Besides," Howard stated. "We're going to rescue Sargent Barnes.Do you really want to leave him to this world without you after all the hell he's likely been through?"

Steve sighed.Howard was right, He already left Bucky in one reality, he couldn’t leave him in another. "Alright.Write this down."He told them the coordinates where he was found - where they would find _their_ Steve.

Howard wrote them down on multiple pieces of paper."No way am I losing this," he declared while folding one of the papers into his front pocket.

Steve couldn't help but smile."It was good to see you again, Howard."

"It was good to see you, too. And don't worry, we'll find you.That is, the other you."

"Good luck with _everything_ ," Steve replied, emphasizing the last word. Howard raised an eyebrow, nodding again in understanding. Aside from retrieving _their_ Steve, they still had to stop Hydra, rescue Bucky, and get the world ready for aliens to come in another 70 years.

Steve looked back at Peggy.Everything would be different now for her. He hoped it was for the best. There was so much he wanted to say but couldn't find the words for, and he simply couldn't bring himself to say ‘goodbye'.“Be happy,” he finally said.

She gave him a soft smile, tears in her eyes. ”I hope you find happiness and peace in your own time.”

He bowed his head.He wasn’t sure what his chances of finding happiness were.Forcing a smile, he stood up and headed for door.

He almost reached it when he heard Peggy call out. "Steve!" Before he had a chance to stop, he felt her grab his arm. Instinctively, he flipped around and pulled her to him, kissing her passionately.

For a few seconds, they just held each other, foreheads pressing. ”Goodbye, Peg,” Steve whispered.Leaning back, he gave a final nod to Howard, looked one last time into Peggy’s eyes, then hurried out the door.He didn’t look back.Only when he turned the corner did he realize that he would never have his dance with Peggy.

————————————————————————————————————————

Steve didn’t know how long he walked for and wasn’t paying attention to where he was going.His mind was such a mess of emotions he wasn’t thinking clearly.The thought did cross his mind how fortunate it was that there hadn’t been anyone around who otherwise would have noticed a very much alive Captain America dressed like a character from a science-fiction film.

He found himself in a secluded area of a park and decided to sit down on a nearby bench.

What was he supposed to do now?

Peggy’s wish for him echoed in his head. _”I hope you find happiness and peace in your own time”_. No, he wouldn't.That was part of the reason why he left.He never said it out loud.He was only now just admitting it to himself. But even Bucky must have known; he must have realized it.That’s why he gave him his permission to leave.Heck, even Peggy saw it in the short time they spent together.And Natasha probably guessed it too.

It wasn't just to be with Peggy. It wasn't just to stop Hydra and Thanos. He fled to the past to get away. If he stayed in 2023, he'd be reminded of all the mistakes he made that caused so much suffering to the world.Mistakes he could never undo.He _could_ have done things differently in the years leading up to the Infinity War.Maybe they would have won if things had played out differently.Natasha and Tony…they’d still be alive.A world without either of them was simply wrong. He’d _feel_ their absence every single day.

Something inside him broke when Thanos won 5 years ago. And it was broken beyond repair when Natasha and Tony died to undo the damage and stop him once and for all.

If 2023 was too haunted for him, and 1945 was no longer home, where did that leave him? He was truly a man out of time.

He never felt more lost. Logically, he knew he should return to 2023. His mission to return the stones was finished and there was no place for him in 1945. And he missed Bucky, Sam, and everyone else. There was no denying it.2023 was home. _The Avengers_ were home.But things would never be the same.

Tony was dead.Natasha...was alive, but she could never go home.

 _Nat_. Despite how haunted 2023 was for him, he'd go back in a heartbeat if Nat could go back with him. But she couldn’t.She was stuck in an alternate 2014.

_An alternate 2014 that will never have to worry about Thanos or the Infinity War..._

_Ultron hasn't happened yet._

_Lagos hasn’t happened yet._

_The Sokovia Accords haven't happened yet._

_The Avengers are still together._

_Oh god…._

Nat said she was going to the Tower.To keep the Avengers on the right path, to stop them from making the same mistakes they made.

He...He could go with her.

He couldn't save his Avenger family in one lifetime but he could save them in another.No way would he allow them to fall apart again.

He could tell Tony about Bucky.

He could find Bucky before someone else does.

Steve stood up, trying to steady his breathing.This was it.This was what he needed to do.

He was going to join Natasha.

Determinedly, he entered the coordinates on his Time-Space GPS, and activated it.

————————————————————————————————————————

He was back on Vormir.Immediately he recalled what Red Skull had said. _Once Captain Rogers leaves, I will transport you to the Avengers Tower as you requested._

“Wait!” Steve called out.

Natasha blinked in surprise.“Steve?”One second he vanished, and the next he reappeared.“What happened? What are you doing here?”

“You were right, Natasha. I couldn’t stay there.It’s not my time anymore.”

“How was it?”

He sighed.“I had my doubts almost immediately.But then Peggy saw me.No undoing that, history was changed at that point.I told her and Howard everything.They know now that they still need to stop Hydra. They know about the Battle of New York and Thanos.They’ll rescue Bucky, and….Peggy made me tell them where in the ocean they’ll find me.”He smiled sadly, a longing look in his eyes. “At least there’ll be one reality where we get to live our lives together.”

She gave him a sympathetic look. ”Tell me you at least had your dance.”

He shook his head, managing a small, wistful smile. “I guess I’ll just have to settle for the one Wanda implanted in my mind just before Ultron."

Natasha gasped.“Wanda! She’s still with Hydra, and Pietro’s still alive!”

He nodded.“We can get them out of Hydra.Maybe salvage their adolescence.”

Her eyes went wide.“We?”

“My home is with the Avengers.I want to save them with you.”Before she could respond, he continued.”Tony needs to know that the threat he saw during the Battle of New York will never come to be.I'd like to be the one to tell him that." He wanted to give _this_ Tony the peace he never found in their original reality.

Natasha nodded, understanding.This was just the beginning. The possibilities were endless."Maybe we can convince Wakanda to come out of isolation sooner."

"I hope so.We'll need their help to cure Bucky."Bucky...he made a comfortable existence for himself in Wakanda before being called up again for the Infinity War.Now with no Infinity War, maybe he could finally live in peace.

Bucky and Sam. He missed them so much already, prompting him to wonder how he could have left them behind in the first place.But there was no changing his mind now. He was staying with Natasha in this branch reality of 2014.Sam and Bucky had each other, Nat had no one.

Natasha smiled at him.It was so good to see that smile again! So full of hope.“I gotta say,” she began. “I’m glad I’m not doing this alone.”

“Yeah, that’s another big reason I’m staying.We’ve been through too much together.I can’t imagine a world without you in it.In a way it makes sense.Your death was one of the reasons I couldn’t stay in 2023, it’s only fitting with you being alive here that I should join you.”

She pulled him into a hug.“We’re gonna be okay,” she whispered.

“We are.”Neither said anything for a moment as they continued to hold each other.“I said before all this started that we both needed to get a life.Looks like that’s finally happening.”

She chuckled and tightened her arms around him.

"This is all very touching," Red Skull's irritated drawl prompted them to release each other."Shall we proceed?"

Steve and Natasha shared one more smile before turning back toward Red Skull."We're ready," Steve declared.

“Captain Rogers, take hold of her hand and I will transport you both.”

They both reached for each other’s hands at the same time.Steve looked at her and felt all the more sure of his decision.This was right.Being with Natasha in this new world was right.He smiled at her.She smiled back.

————————————————————————————————————————

Steve's breath hitched as he found himself outside the Avengers Tower, still holding Natasha's hand.

Her eyes were shining with excitement. "We're here.”

"We're here." He'd always regret the mistakes he made in their reality, but he was grateful he'd been given the chance to prevent his other-self from making the same mistakes too.With Natasha by his side.

They headed for the entrance.”So...." Steve began.“Should we just knock?"

"I'm pretty sure our biometric access is still valid," Natasha responded as she stepped in front of the retinal scanner.

Steve nodded.”Let's do this.”

————————————————————————————————————————

“You gonna tell me about her?” Sam asked.

The elderly Steve Rogers smiled.“No.No, I don’t think I will.”

_Not yet.But he would._

 _He’d tell them how Natasha lived.How since she couldn’t return to their time, he stayed with her in the branch-2014.How they met with the Avengers of that reality and told them everything.How the Avengers of that reality never broke up. How they rescued Bucky sooner. How even Tony and Bucky became friends. That if the Avengers were each other’s immediate family than_ Future-Steve _and_ Future-Nat _, as Tony dubbed them, became something like their second cousins._

_He’d tell them the cover story they told the world, that he and Natasha were from a future that had been destroyed and were there to prevent it from happening.He’d tell them the world wasn’t sunshine and rainbows. That there were still threats to be dealt with and missions to complete. But the Avengers - including himself and Natasha - had been there to take care of them all._

_He’d tell them how they raided Hydra for the exact purpose of finding Wanda and Pietro.How they convinced Wanda to read their minds so she and her brother would know the full story and leave Hydra. How the twins dropped their vendetta against Tony.How Ultron never came to be.How he and Natasha took them in and essentially became their foster parents._

_Finally, he’d tell them about_ he and Natasha _._ _How he went from just loving Natasha as a friend to being_ in love _with her.How he was in love with her for a while before he finally admitted it. How it turned out she felt the same way and had been hiding it to. How they both had given up on happiness before realizing they would find it with each other._

_He’d tell them how he didn’t regret the life he never lived with Peggy. That he stopped regretting it a long time ago. He’d tell them that he and Natasha married. That the life he lived with Natasha was wonderful.The years he spent with her made him happier than he once thought possible._

_Yes, he would tell them.He’d tell them he and Natasha got a life together, and it was glorious._


End file.
